Take a trip through history with this new exhibition coming to D.C., marked the biggest outdoor museum in the world. Using A.R. technology, walk over 8-miles through D.C.’s most historic neighborhoods, like Georgetown and Anacostia, as you learn about some of the most important visionaries, icons, and moments that shaped the city.
51StepstoFreedom is a non-profit organization that’s behind this effort. Part interactive exhibit, part history lesson, this exhibit is shaping the way people can experience history for the modern age and you know what they say about history. Those who don’t know it…and you know the rest.
The museum took inspiration from Boston’s landmark attraction, the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile-long path that takes tourists through 16 different locations that were pivotal to the city’s role in America’s independence. It’s often listed as one of the top 10 things to do in Boston and is walked by more than 4 million tourists a year.
51 Steps to Freedom uses your phone to transform your surroundings, taking you into the past by showcasing people and places from centuries ago. Prompts will appear on your phone screen, giving you deeper insight into whatever you’re looking at. This could be a blurb about the first person to reach the North Pole, Matthew Henson, Marvin Gaye’s mural, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez’s performance together right before Martin Luther King Jr.s’ “I Have a Dream” speech or James Baldwin’s contributions. Make sure to turn your volume up, because you won’t just be seeing a different layer of reality, but hearing it too.
An interactive map will be available, guiding you through D.C. in a way you’ve never experienced before. Your own personal walking tour that helps give depth, layers, and meaning to what makes D.C. the capitol of our nation.